Author
Topic: Creamline milk question/observation (Read 1161 times)

I just did my first cheese with Trader Joe's Creamline Milk. I looks amazing but, when initially heating the milk, the butterfat solids did slowly melt away into the milk, however there was a small amount of "scum" floating on top that did not dissolve. It concerned me a bit, it was fairly dark yellow in color and had a consistency of almost light axle grease. I skimmed it all off with no issues just to be sure, probably amounted to about 2 tablespoons at the most. I am wondering what this was and if I should have left in in the mix? I was afraid the starter cultures would not dissolve properly if I left this pool of goo sit on top. Did I skim off and toss something good/beneficial like more butter fat?

I am using the TJ's milk frequently. Sometimes the cream absolutely refuses to mix back into the milk when I shake the container before pouring it in the pot. If so, when heating the milk sometimes there is butterfat that refuses to mix into the milk (depends on the temperature I think.) So, sometimes I collect the nice yellow thick stuff, and save it for cooking! I would not throw it out as it sure tastes good. There has not been more than 2 Tblsp of the stuff in any batch I have made. Susan

I have used raw, creamline, my own "created creamline" (non-fat milk with added cream) and whole milk.

I see it often with the creamlines and "created creamline" in varying amounts. I get the feeling it is a based on freshness of the milk/cream. Nothing solid on which to base that but I can get pretty fresh non-fat milk but the creamline isnt as fresh as I would like, and when I make my own "creamline" by mixing non-fat and cream it seems to occur more if I cannot find cream that is as fresh as the milk (based on the "use-by-date").

I just skim it off as best as possible before adding rennet.

(edit: I noticed an error, I typed raw milk in place of "created creamline")

Very good to hear, I was hoping I was not the only one. Stupid me though, never thought to keep it and use if for cooking. Sometimes I wonder about myself.....probably be awesome to saute some veggies in. Live and learn, eh? Thanks much for the info and tip.

I think it is basically butterfat globules which have come together. Butter is formed when the sheath covering fat globules breaks, and then the fat molecules inside join up with one another. There is always some agitation during the processing of milk (milking, storing, transporting, bottling, etc) that very slightly can break up the fat globules, essentially "churning" a small amount of butter, which can rise and float on the surface of milk. The fattier the milk, the more likely this is to happen, and also the less fat that can get retained in the curd and instead remains in the whey, again rising to the surface.

For some reason I thought the point of using cream line milk was that it hadn't been homogenized which damages the proteins and calcium balance in the milk. Would using homogenized skim and (raw?) cream rectify that issue in some manner? What am I missing? Not criticizing, just curious and always looking for a better whey to do things.

Whatever it is that they do to homogenize milk makes it harder to form a curd. That was my extent of scientific knowledge right there.

I buy raw milk from a lady with a cow, and I notice the same things that you say, but I have not skimmed the stuff off of the top. Most of the time mine always eventually goes away, even if it's after heating the curd to 102 degrees. I also feel better about my milk after reading this post because I was wondering about that stuff on the top also.

I think it is basically butterfat globules which have come together. Butter is formed when the sheath covering fat globules breaks, and then the fat molecules inside join up with one another. There is always some agitation during the processing of milk (milking, storing, transporting, bottling, etc) that very slightly can break up the fat globules, essentially "churning" a small amount of butter, which can rise and float on the surface of milk. The fattier the milk, the more likely this is to happen, and also the less fat that can get retained in the curd and instead remains in the whey, again rising to the surface.

This part makes sense to me too. I know that my milk is transported from farm to her house, and then transported from her house back to me, and it does have small pieces of fat that stick together, so I'm taking it for small amounts of butter being churned in my milk. At least 1 or 2 of my gallons of milk always appear to have a small solid blobs fall out into the pot, but I can never find them, and the milk is not spoiled. I was thinking that it was the butter fat getting cold in my chest type refrigerator and forming little clumps.

I've been only using raw milk for cheese and I've never noticed that problem with fresh milk. I get my milk from a local farm. I've also used frozen raw milk and not had a problem with cream separation. But for soft cheese using raw milk that's over 2 weeks old in the fridge I have seen a problem with the cream not wanting to stay blended in.

For some reason I thought the point of using cream line milk was that it hadn't been homogenized which damages the proteins and calcium balance in the milk. Would using homogenized skim and (raw?) cream rectify that issue in some manner? What am I missing? Not criticizing, just curious and always looking for a better whey to do things.

cheers

Mike

I have questioned whether non-fat milk is actually homogenized because there is nothing to actually homogenize since all the butterfats have been removed....In practice, I get better results than using homogenized whole milk, so who knows. I get a better curd for sure than when using a whole milk from the same brand name. The main issue is finding a heavy cream that isn't ultra-pasteurized. Most seems to be but I have found 2 brands in the markets I frequent that are just pasteurized. The best results come from using raw milk, but it is a pain for me to get, and much more expensive. I have to drive about 30 miles through the most congested highway in Dallas to get to the only dairy that sells it in the area, and it costs $10/gallon on top of that. So I use the "created" creamline more often...I have tried the creamlines from Whole Foods, but freshness is a crapshoot so I seldom go that route. Not to mention that the Cream line at Whole Foods is $8 a gallon. I have determined, since it has been a while since I have had time to make cheese that my next make, I hope next week, will be with raw milk.